Remembrance
by RockaRoller88
Summary: A year after the end of Twilight Princess, Link the Rancher sits on a field and remembers a Twili girl he once knew. One-sided Lidna - Link/Midna. Oneshot.


**A/N:** Hiya! Thanks for coming to read my story! I used to do fics a whiiille ago, and decided I really wanted to get back into it. I loved writing 'em, and here's my first foray back into things (and my first Zelda fic), so please! Read, review, critique, do anything but mindlessly flame! This is my take on the Midna/Link romance, which I took in the game to be mostly one sided. It takes place about a year after the end of Twilight Princess: just long enough for things to sort of get to a bit of normalcy while not far enough away for the events to be forgotten at all.

Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, I am not Nintendo and I do not own Zelda or any of the characters. I also claim nothing that may get me sued. :-D

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Link, Hero of the Twilight:

"C'mon, there you go, last little bit," I say, mostly to myself. The creak of the gate wades into the silence of the night, loud and cloying amidst the background hum of nature and the groggy bleating of goats. The frayed rope bites into my tired fingers as I tether the gate shut, a reminder of the hard days work, and the kind of patience and passion this type of life requires.

'_A kind of patience only a war can give.'_ The thought springs unbidden to my mind, a harsh reminder of times past. Resolutely, I finish the knot, and walk to the entrance of the barn.

The night sky greets me overwhelmingly as I clear the entrance; bright spatterings of stars piercing the darkness and staring down upon me. An easy smile worms its way onto my face, sparked by the sudden feeling of engulfment, of the sky leaning down and blanketing me. I'm all alone here at the ranch, closing out the day and taking care of the last feed, and the thought of something watching me, accompanying me, is almost heartwarming.

Before I know what's happened, I realize I'm sitting down, hands propping my body up against the cool prickles of grass and fauna. I lean back, feeling the leather of my gauntlets press through my hair as I fully immerse myself into the hill, staring out into the expanse of life that looms over me. The darkness is achingly beautiful, both humbling and enheartening.

'_Is that you talking, or _her_?'_ Another unbidden thought.

Her. You.

You hang in my memories, you know. Even now, a couple of years later, I don't think a day goes by that you don't cross my mind at some point. I guess that's only natural, I mean, you were literally there, with me, every second of every day, peering sneakily from amidst my shadow or firmly settled upon my back. We were a duo, a pair, taking on a task so utterly impossible that it became our lives, regardless of what else might have been going on around us. In retrospect, I wish we had taken more days to ourselves, relishing the short-lived time together.

I remember the irritating way you would pop out just as I had finished making an idiot of myself. Your one visible eye, bright orange and red, would leer out of the dark, brimming with humor that cut through the trauma and sadness that so defined you. A sharp fang or two would sneak out through your wide grin, and your bright, squeaky laughter would peal out and promptly tear my ego apart. To this day, every time I stumble or trip, I grimace, expecting your laughter to ring out and echo my embarrassment. I'm always disappointed.

I vaguely remember the way your real form looked: tall, starkly beautiful amidst your sad grays and virulent oranges. The haunted look of your eyes disappeared into an odd mix of levity and royalty, and your lips curled into a knowing smirk. Honestly, to me, you'll always be the little imp: the tortured, sad little creature that, even amidst the horrors of your life, could somehow manage to find a way to laugh and to care. I would never take your happiness back from you, but your transformation seemed to write into stone the way in which our lives were about to separate.

I wonder what you thought, as you greeted me after Ganondorf's death. All I remember about that moment was my vast relief at your survival. I saw his thick, muscled hand gripping the Fused Shadow, eyes sparkling with malevolence, breath ragged and predatory, and horrible images filled my mind. My hatred for him was fueled by my imagination running wild: pictures of you lying cold, helpless and lonely upon the ground as your life faded away. I remember the heat of the tears streaming down my face as I saw you smiling at me.

Tears. I couldn't remember crying with relief at anything before. You brought things out of me that I didn't know were there.

What were we? In reality, I don't know. I cared deeply about you: you became such an important facet of my life that I couldn't imagine going back to times without you. I don't think I was capable of loving you in the way that you wanted, but in the same breath, I've never had a closer friend. Perhaps my favorite memory was when we burst through the throne room's doors, victory shining in our every gesture, the idea of failure utterly inconceivable. You floated against me, shot me a self-confident smirk which I returned, and we were invincible.

I knew how you felt, at the end. It was written in your actions, in your behaviors, and contrary to what you might have thought, I'm not quite as stupid as you believed. Your smiles held more than they had beforehand, your laughter held an element that was missing when we first met. I remember the swirling dust of the Arbiter's Grounds, the stifling dry heat as you poured your heart out, the weight your tiny voice seemed to carry as you apologized and explained. I won't lie, the thought that I was nothing but a tool in the beginning hurt, but any anger I could have felt towards you was dissipated in the midst of your sadness. I knew you needed more from me than I could give you, much as I would have liked to. To this day, that is one of my foremost regrets.

I wonder if it is one of yours, too. I remember the way your smile became so much like the first ones I saw from you, bleak, saddening, false, as you stepped up to the Twilight, and yet, your eyes said so much. I knew what was going to happen before it happened, I heard it in your voice, I saw it in the warmth of your face, and even though it wrenches at me every day, I know it was for me. All of the future problems we would have had, all of my pursuits to see you again, to make you happy despite the fact that what you wanted most was something I was incapable of bestowing upon you, erased in the trillions of mirror shards that litter the Arbiter's Grounds.

I hope you're happy, wherever you are. I hope that you've forgotten about me, that you've moved on, that you're kingdom cherishes you the way you deserve to be.

I sit here, underneath this moon, and this set of stars, and I can't even take solace from the knowledge that you're sitting underneath the same moon, the same set of stars. We have no more connection, you and I, all you are is a collection of memories, but I know you're somewhere, I know all is as it should be for you, and I hope that's enough.

"Link!"

Ilia's voice carries over the meadow, ripping me out of my reverie and back to Ordon. Back to Hyrule. Back to _this_ universe.

"What are you still doing out here?" she asks, a confused eyebrow cocking up, "You never take this long."

I shoot her a smile, planting my hands against the ground and propping myself up. "I'm sorry. I was just sitting and thinking."

The ground rustles as she sits beside me, her smooth, milky skin shining in the moonlight. The green of her eyes is startling, glowing brightly through the darkness. Her eyebrows furrow into an expression of concern.

"Are you alright?" she asks. Her voice is soft and sweet, and my smile becomes more genuine.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I reply, and I know that its true.

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**A/N: **Well there it is! Thanks so much for reading it all the way to the end!

I'm working on a fic featuring Linebeck from Phantom Hourglass now that I hope to post in a week. After that, if the mood hits me, I might dive into a post-Twilight Princess chapter fic. Please, R&R if you liked it, hated it, whatever! I love getting feedback, of any kind, and its really appreciated!

Sorry to all the Lidna-lovers/Lilia-haters out there, but that's just how I saw the video game going. I think it was pretty clear that Midna had a crush on Link, but the connection he shared with Ilia (especially when she gets her memory back, and the tear goes down her face) seemed to be the big OTP of that video game.

Keep reading!

Rockaroller88


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